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Bringing In the Outdoors

Updated Jan. 7, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

Who: Robert A. Funk, Express Personnel Services

Where: 8516 Northwest Expressway, Oklahoma City

What you see: A Brahman bull executive chair. In a Western-themed office with embossed furnishings and dozens of bronzes, this longtime rancher presides over a temporary-staffing service with some 425 franchises world-wide. The privately held company recorded sales of $1.03 billion in 2003, despite the fact that its chairman and chief executive says he doesn't like sitting behind a desk. Mr. Funk would rather be outside, so he fills his wide-open workspace with figures of animals, wild and domestic. A buffalo roams across a cabinet. A bronco bucks its rider. Game birds take flight all around. No Remingtons in here; many of the works are pricey, but none are famous. He simply buys sculptures he relates to, like the one of a cowboy sitting at a computer, reading the instructions. The 63-year-old entrepreneur also owns businesses that deal in livestock, beef and sports management, along with Oklahoma City's hockey team. Last year, he purchased a majority interest in the RedHawks minor-league baseball franchise. Mr. Funk runs Express from a formal office suite overlooking a manmade lake with fountains. Cherry-veneer dressers are adorned with brass pulls. Oversized armchairs are upholstered in cowhide. The requisite desk is topped with a granite slab. He works by fluorescent lights but keeps lamps made from the horns of mountain sheep. A Shorthorn hide serves as a throw rug. Rather than paintings, this self-described "country kid at heart" hangs photographs of himself with presidents and statesmen, from Polish labor leader Lech Walesa to General Norman Schwarzkopf. Books range from biographies to religious tomes. Mr. Funk always keeps a worn, leather-bound copy of the New Testament within reach. Though he studied theology and even joined the clergy, he switched to business to avoid public speaking. "It still makes me nervous," he admits.

What he sees: "Western heritage. I wear a cowboy hat with my suit around town, and sometimes I get chided for that. But I'm very proud of the values [the Old West] stands for: integrity, toughness, determination and loyalty. Oftentimes things are difficult in the ranching business. But everyone helps everyone else. We've tried to create that small-town environment in this company, even as we grow larger. Around here, a handshake is as good as a contract."